Telegraphic recorder



June 17, 1930. E. A. FALLER 1,764,830

TELEGRAPHIC RECORDER Filed March 25. 1927 PatentedJuneU,

' P'ATENr oEEIcE ERNEST A; TALLER, Ol' BROOKLYN, NEW YORK mnnammc naconnm Application led Karol! 83, 1927. 'Serial No. 177,350.

The .present invention relates'to improved recordmg mechanisms for s1 als, and `more particularly the invention re ates to mechanisms for making a permanent record of signalsor messages transmitted electrically or otherwise from a distantL point.

Various forms of recorders for. automatically recording telegraphic signals or messages on a moving tape' by perforating, slashing or embossing the ta e, and by markin the tape through the actlon of chemicals, i s, pyrographic effects andthe like, all of which have proven more or less unsatisfactory in operation where accuracyand reliability are essential, as for example, in

fire alarm and way station telegraph signalling o erations.. The most common lforms of suc recorders are the inkand the perforating or slashing recorders. The recorders in common use utilize felt inking rollers for the marker, which require frequent attention to maintain the r'oller properly inked and are subject to'smearing of the record incidental to ltoo much ink, drying of the ink on the filled roller in operation with consequent loss of signals, and to other practical disadvantages. As a result of defects of the ink registers of the prior art, perforating and slashin registers of various types have been devise in which perforations are made in a paper tape. While avoiding the troubles incident to inking, the perforatlng recorders are subject to other disadvantages among them being the fact that the tape cannot be driven continuously as in the Iinking recorders and the clock driving mechanism must be frequently rewound because of the amount of energy necessary t'o- .0perate the punchers for perforating the tape. A further disadvantage of the perforatlng registers or recorders is that they are not readily adapted for recording dot and dash teleaphic codes, such for example, as the llorse or Continental telegraphic codes.

To avoid the disadvantages incident to the prior tape recorders various efforts to develop recorders provided with ink ribbons such as are used in typewriter mechanisms have been made, but'have been unsuccessful. I have found that the ordinary typewriter n ink .ribbon-mechanisms cannot be applied to tele aphic registers utilizing a continuously ed tape to record signals for the rcason that a typewriter mechanisms the ribbon 1s statlonary during the printing operation. For successful operation of a ribbon inking device in telegraphic tape recorders,

I have found that it is necessary to move the ink ribbon in the direction of movement of the recording tape during the printing operw ation in order that a legible record may be made. A further requirement of a ractical ink ribbon tape recorder is that t e same section of the ribbon must not be reused before the ink has had time to seep to the :g5 places left bare by the transfer of ink from the ribbon to the tape in the printing of the signals. In prior efforts to utilize inkrribbons in recorders of this type, ribbons of such length have been used that the same 10 section of the ribbon is reused about every thirty Seconds or less in the operation, and the ink in the used section of the ribbon is rapidly used to such an extent that failure to mark occurs shortly after such recorders are put into continuous service. I have, however, discovered that if a suicient interval of time, usually from 15 to 30 minutes is allowed between each use of a given ribbon section, ink will seep from the surroundao ing ribbon parts to the ribbon section that is used in the marking, and continuous reliable marking operation may be maintained.

I have found with a good hectographic ribbon it is essential that a ribbon length of at least six feet and referably a length of about ten feet should) be utilized for ractical operation. I `have found when a r1 bon of this length is used with a telegraph register such as is used for Morse recorders slowly seep toward the spot left bare by the printing of signals, and the printing of signals may be carried on without mutila-l tion in continuous operation of the device. A rimar object of my invention is to provi e a ribbon inking recordenmechanism for telegraphc signals, adapted for continuous operation.

Another object of the invention is to rovide an ink ribbon recorder in whicli a i suicient length of ribbon is -utilized to per mit the ink to seep to theused sections of the tape before 'the reuse so that continuous operation may be maintained.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel ribbon inking recorder mechanism for recording signals in code form in which the 'ribbon is continuously fed in the same direction as the recording` tape.

A further object of the invention is to provide aconvenient, compact, portable ribbon inking mechanism .suit-able for use as a. telegraphic code signals recorder, and adapted for continuous operation in which a discontinuous ink ribbon is automatically reversed and fed at all times in the direction of movement of -the tape upon .which the signals are recorded. 4

Further objects of the invention will apear in the following description of the preerred embodiment thereof and are such as may be attained by a utilization of the various combinations, sub-combinations, and princi les hereinafter set forth, and as more fully defined by the terms of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings- Figure l is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment ofmy invention as applied to a typical recorder or register utilized for recording Morse, fire alarm, and similar signals. v

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the form of invention shown in Figure Figure 3 is a plan view partially in section of the form of invention shown in Fi ure 1.

igure 4 is a fragmental view showing a .modified arrangement of the feeding mechanism utilized in connection with the form of invention shown 1n Figure 1.

As shown in\ the drawings, 1 indicates the casing of a typical tape recorder or register. Journaled in casing 1 is the usual windin shaft 2 of a spring driven clockwork or the propulsion of the recorder' mechanism. The clockwork or spring motor comprises a gear wheel 3 rotatably mounted on shaft 2 with which the drum 4 is integrally formed. Disposed within the drum or barrel 4 is a spiral main sprin (not shown) of the usual type, which as its suitable brac incasso -inner end securedto shaft 2 audits louter end secured to the inner circumference of barrel 4. Rotatably mounted on shaft 2 is a bevel gear 5 formin partof my invention on which a pawl 6,-1s pivotally mounted. Pawl 6 is spring pressed into' engagement with ratchet wheel 7 which is secured to and rotatable withwinding shaft 2.

. The rotation of driving gear is prevented by a usual type of self stopping device (not shown) controlled by the armature 8 of the receiving magnet 9,- which is supported by ets from ,the casing 1 in the usual manner. As is well known in the art self starting and self stopping devices of 'this type are arranged so that as long as the magnet 9 becomes energized at intervals the gear 3 will remain in' rotation vand the gear 3 and clockwork will be stopped only' when the magnet is not energized for the predetermined length of time. i.

' The armature 8 is secured to spindle 10 rotatably mounted on brackets secured'y to casing 1, and secured to spindle 10 is marking level' 11 which together with armature 8 is normally held in retracted position by the action of spring 12 secured to lever 11.

Supported in the end of lever 11 is a marking stylus 13 which upon energization of magnet 9 is forced upward against the tape 14 to effect a marking of the tape 14. Tape 14 passes normally around a guiding roller l5 and in a straight line over stylus 13 to the tape feeding rollers 16 and 17. Roller 16 is preferably provided with a vsharp finely toothed or serrated periphery to insure positive propulsion of the tape, and is driven by a shaft 18 which in turn is driven through a gear train of any usual type from the gear 3 (not shown). Roller 17 is fiat and is rotatably mounted on the upper end of supporting arm 19, the lower end of which is pivotally secured at 20 to the casing 1. A spring 22 interposed between arm 19 and casing 1 urges the roller 17 yieldingly downward forcing the tape into engagement with the periphery of feed Wheel 16. The mechanisms not shown in detail form no part of my invention and are of any usual tape register or recorder type. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, shaft 2 is adapted to be rotated by a key fitting over/the square end thereof to wind the main spring of the spring motor, and with the gear 3 held stationary by the stop mechanism, pawl 6 will engage a tooth of ratchet wheel 7 and will prevent unwinding of the spring.r

The essentially'no'vel features of my invention reside in the ink ribbon mechanism hereinafter set forth. In locations where ample space lis provided, a ractical ink ribbon recorder may be made y providing a continuous ink ribbon of from six to ten `feet or, more in length supported on suitable pulleys with a rsection continuousl interposed' between the ta e upon whic the record is to be made an a platen member above stylus 13 together with means Yfor driving` the ribbon continuously in the -dinection'of feed of the recording tape,

24 is a gear 27 driving an idler gear 28 rotatably supported from the yoke 26. Gear 28 meshes with and drives a pinion 29 which is rigidly secured to and adapted to drive a frame structure 30. Frame 30 is rotatably supported on a vertical post 31, provided with an enlarged head 32 at its lower end and against which the frame 30 rests, and secured at its upper end by means of the nut 33 to bracket 26. Rotatably secured to extension 34 of frame 30 by means of stud 35 is a roller 36 so positioned that the end of the stylus 13 will press the tape 14 against the ink ribbon 37 as it passes over roller 36 when the magnet 9 is energized. In the preferred embodiment of the invention stylus 13 is positioned to one side of the center of ribbon 37 for the purpose of using different sections of the ribbon when the ribbon mechanism is reversed as will more fully hereinafter appear.

Ribbon 37 is wound upon ribbon spools 38 and 39 which are removably held on the end of drive spindles 46 and 41, respectively by means of the knurled thumbscrews 42 threaded on the end of the spindles. When positioned on the spindles 40 and '41 respectively, the spools are driven with the spindles by a driving pin 43 (Figure 3) secured to the spindles. Spindles 40 and 41 are journaled in suitable bearing sections 44 of frame 30 and secured thereto are the pinions 45 and 46. Pinions 45 and `46 mesh with gears 47 and 48 respectively which are provided with the tubular hub sections 49 and 50 mounted for rotation on the stud 51 which in turn is secured in framework 30. drum section 51 to the inner periphery of which the outer end of a long thin spiral spring member 52 is secured by screw 53. The inner end of the spring 52 is secured to hub section 49 of gear 48 by means of screw 54. Pivotally supported on ends of frame 30 by means of pins 55 and 56 are the stop members 57 and 5 8 between which spring 59 (Figure 1) is secured. Members Secured` to gear 47 is a` 57 and 58 extendV downward between the i flanges ofthe ribbon spools 38 and 39 and are guided in their swlnging movement b l pins 60 and 61 secured .1n the'lower en of framel 30 andextending throu h guide slots formed adjacent the lower en o sto'p members 57 and 58. The lower ends of stop members 57 and 58 extend beneath the lower edge of frame 30 and are ada ted to engage the stop member 62 secure to casing 1 to control the position of frame 30 as will more fully hereinafter appear.

y Operation. With the' parts as shown in Figure 2, rotation of frame 30 about post 31 under influence of the main spring and bevel gear 5 is prevented by enga ement of the lower end of the stop mem r` 57 with frame bracket 62.

Upon receipt of the first impulse of a series of signals by magnet 9, the self-startin mechanism will be actuated to free gear 3 or rotation under the iniluencevofimain spring, and will drive the tape feed wheel 16 in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 1 to advance tape 14 continuously from left to right. As magnet 9 is enerthe ribbon 37, the ink ribbon will move forward in the direction of movement of the tape winding up on the one spool and unwinding from the other. In this war a freshly inked surface of the ribbon wil be in contact with the tape over the .stylus so long as the magnet is energized, and a mark depending upon the length of the im ulse received by the magnet 9 will be ma e on the tape. While fresh ink sections of the ribbon will be utilized foreach marking it will be noted that -the ink ribbon is onl advanced when a marking signal is receive As the operation, of the device continues, the ribbon willwind up on spool 38 and will unwind on spool 39 until the-ribbon on spool 38 forces stop member 57 outward about its pivot 55 a sufficient distance todisengage the end thereof from stop member 62. When this occurs, frame 30 will be freed for rotation about the post 31 under the lio influence of the main spring acting through y the bottom ofthe-sto member 58feng3g's stop 62 positionin the leftand the rib n s l 38 to the right in Figure 1. During t is rotation of the frame 30,,it will be noted that no loss .of signals will occur durin this interval. During the markingoperatlons of the register, printing ribbon-will a ain be moved with the tape to the leftin Figure 1 and will now be-woun'dup on s ol 39 and unwound from spool 38 until t e ribbon forces the end of the stop member 58 out of engagement with the stop 62, permitting the parts again to rotate through an angle of 180 derees.

If the stylus 13 is positioned sli htly to one side of the center of the rib on 37., When the frame 30 rotates through 180 degrees, the marking will occur at an equal distance on o posite sides of the center of ribbon 37 an different sections of the ribt e ribbon spool bon will alternately be used giving more time for the ink to seep to the used sections the ribbon. By making the stylus 13 laterally adjustable on' actuatin lever 11, a maximum life and eiciency o utilization of the ribbon is secured.

. It will be seen in the mechanism so far described a novel compact ink ribbon mechanism for recordin mechanisms utilizing an ink ribbon of su cient length to permit continuous o eration is provided in which movement o the ink ribbon occurs vin the direction of movement of the tape during all marking operations, while at the same time a discontinuous ribbon is utilized.

In the mechanism so far described, the pressure exerted by the st lus and the movement of the tape on whic the messages are recorded are relied upon to shift the ink ribbon. This requires a sufficiently heavy current in the magnet 9 to get the desired frictional contact between the tape and the ink ribbon.- It 'is frequently desirable to operate the receiving magnet with very light currents, as when the .magnet is inserted directly in a long main line. To insure continuous driving of the tape under these conditions, as shown in Figure 4, a special feeding mechanism may be provided consisting of a shaft 64 geared to and continuously driven from the tape driving shaft 18 in a manner that will be obvious to one skilled in the art. Secured on one end of shaft 6 4 is an eccentric 65 on which is mounted an eccentric 'stra 66 actuating ribbon stepping pawl 67. awl 67 is held inclined by its weifght towards a fixed stop 68 supported rom casing 1 in any suitable manner, and the upper end thereof is provided with a toothed end l69 adapte to engage the teeth 70 of the ribbons ools. Pawl 67 is provided withafiared edge 1 adapted to be engaged by the flanges of the 'ribbon spools38and `39'to vcam the pawl slightly away ,fromV stop 68 during the rotation of frame 30 to 4reverse the winding of the ribbon. When this stepping device for the ribbon is utilized, shaft 64 and eccentric 65 rotate continuously imparting a reciprocating action to the pawl 67.` This reciprocating action of the pawl 67 steps the spool 38 or 39 in engagement therewith, winding the ribbon so that it moves in the direction of ta e 14 in operation of the device. AWhen t e frame 30 is freed for its 180 degree rotation by the release of stop member 57 or 58,l pawl 67 will move forward slightly engaginrf stop 68. At the end of a hal revolution o? the frame, the flange of the ribbon spool will engage the flared section of the pawl 67, camming it outward slightlyiand as the frame comes to rest the nose 69 of the pawl will en age the teeth ofv the ribbon spool winding t e ribbon in the opposite direction on the spool but still feeding-it in the direction of movement of tape It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that a hand mechanism for reversing the position of carriage 30 may be provided to turn the carrier 180 de rees for reversing the ribbon feed by elimlnating bevel gears v 5, 23, and 27, and the drum 4, and providing the usual spring drive motor arrangement, and by providing a hand button to turn gear 28.` In such cases the operator charged with the duty of Winding the spring mechanism can note the condition of the ribbon on the spools l38 and 39 when the main spring mechanism is hand wound and when the ribbon is almost unwound from the one spool and the other spool is almost filled the frame is rotated 180 degrees by opraing the hand button to reverse the ribbon n It will be apparent to those'skilled in the art that various other modifications of my invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, instead of rotating the fralne 30 in a horizontal plane the ribbon frame may be mounted for a 18() degree rotation about a horizontal axis.

Accordingly, having described only preferred embodiments of my invention, what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent and claimed as new is:

1. A telegraphic recorder 4comprising receiving means; marking means actuated by said receiving means; a record tape; means for advancing said record tape during the reception of signals; an ink ribbon having 'no normal tendency to move; and means for ymovlng sald r1bbon 1n the directlon of movement of said tape only during marking operations of said markmg means.l

2. A recorder for telegraphic signals; Comprising a tape; an ink r1bbon with a lll incasso section thereof disposed adjacent said tape" ditions are made;`a and an 'automati- I i marking means;means lfor bringing sai markingmeans into engagement with said-- tape in response to received signalling 1m-v pulses; and means for moving said tape and 'said ribbon in the same direction only While said marking means is in engagement with said tape to effect a record of the received signaling conditions on said tape.

3. AA recording mechanism com rising a movable tape; marking means a apted to engage said tape for recording purposes;

and an link ribbon having no normal tendency to move disposed adjacentsaid tape movable in the direction o and with said tape only when said marking means is actuated to make a record on said tape.

ordrtape; an` 'inking ribbon; a reversible winding mechanism for said ribbon reversible during recording o erations; marking means coacting with sai tape and said ribbon to produce a record; and means for moving said ribbon in contact with and in the direction of movement of said record tape independently of the direction of winding of said ribbon on said ribbon mechanism.

5. The combination as set forth in claim the direction of movement of said tape independently of the relative direction of winding of said ribbon on said Winding mechanism.

7. A tape recorder in which the tape is movable to effect the marking thereon; an ink ribbon having no normal tendency to move for supplying marking fluid to said tape, of suiiicient length to permit ink to seep to the ribbon sections utilized in .the marking operation from -the surrounding ribbon section before a reuse of any given section of the ribbon; and means for moving said ribbon adjacent said tape only in the direction of movement of said tape.

8. A movable tape recorder comprising marking means responsive to received signals for producing a record on said tape while in motion; and an inking mechanism comprising a discontinuous reversible ribbon movable only when marking signals are received and driven during all recording operations in the direction of movement of said record tape.

9. A telegraphic recording mechanism comprising a marker responsive to received si naling conditions; `a movable tape upon w ich a record of the'received signaling conj j fore reuse of an 4. In a signal recorder; a movable rectape.

record tape; a marker responsive to received f signalin combinations for recordin the received signalin combinations Aon said tape; and an ink' ri bon movable longitudinally only in the direction of movement of said strip during markin operations only; said ribbon being repeated y reused in markin operation and of suicient length to permit ink t0 seep to the used sections of the ribbon from the surrounding sections of the ribbon begiven section of the ribbon i na succee ing marking operation to permit continuous operation without loss of signals due to'drying ofthe ribbon in the sections used for marking.

11. In a recorder; a marker; an ink ribbon mechanism coacting with said marker to produce a record; comprisinga ribbon and a pair of reels on which said ribbon is wound; a platen member around which said ribbon passes disposed` adjacent said marker; and means for interchanging the position lof said reels to reverse the direction of winding of said ribbon thereon during receipt of marking signals without changing the direction of movement of said ribbon through the recorder.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 11 in which said last mentioned means is automatically controlled by the winding of said ribbon.

13. In a recorder; a marking means; a rotatable carriage; a laten member mounted on said carriage a jacent said marker; an inked ribbon mounted on said carriage passing round said platen member; a reversible winding mechanism mounted on said carriage; and means for rotating said carriage to reverse the direction of winding of said ribbon. Y

14. The combination as set forth in claim 13 in which said last mentioned means is automatically controlled by said ribbon.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 1:3 in which the axis of rotation of said carriageis 1nl substantial alignment with the marking section of said marking means.

16. In a tape recorder; a spring motor; a tape driven from said spring motor in a single direction; a marker actuated in response to received signals; an inking ribbon having no normal tendency to move and of suiiicient length to permit continuous marking operations adapted to coact with said marker to produce a record on said tape; and means driven by said spring motor for causing said ribbon to be driven in the di.-

marking signals are received.

10. A tape recorder comprising a movable zo 17. In a tage recorder; a spring motor;

n tope driven said spring motor; n marker responslve to received slgnuhng combinations adapted to produce n, record on said tape; a reversible carriage; un ink ribbon mounted on n winding mechanism on said carnage and yfed adJacent to sind tu e and in the direction of movement of sai tape;

mld mcuns controlled by said ribbon, for controlling the reversing operation of said carriage to reverse the direction of winding of said ribbon.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature. ERNEST A. FALLER. 

